Conceptualization in Walter Ong (Class Readings)

March 20, 2022 

An idea that Walter Ong brings up in his book, "Orality and Literacy" is conceptual thinking and how it is abstract. He writes, "All conceptual thinking is to a degree abstract. So 'concrete' a term as 'tree' does not refer simply to a singular 'concrete' tree but is an abstraction, drawn out of, away from, individual, sensible actuality; it refers to a concept which is neither this tree nor that tree but can apply to any tree" (p. 49). Oral cultures use concepts in a more situational and operational frame instead of abstract. This is most obvious in Plato's "Republic" when he questions the interlocutor as to what the term justice means. The interlocutor replies with a specific and situational concept of justice and Socrates replies with a situation in which this definition does not fit. In this, Socrates is searching for an abstract, but universal conception of justice while his interlocutor is thinking about it in a more oral sense. It is fascinating to look at Plato's different dialogues in context of this passage by Walter Ong because it explains why Socrates was so adamant about finding a definition for terms while his opponents were unable to understand why. 

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